Systems and methods for modifying a playlist of media assets based on user interactions with a playlist menu

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided herein for modifying playlists of media assets. In some aspects, these methods and systems are provided by way of receiving a user input that causes a media asset in a playlist to cease from being played back and to be removed from the playlist. User interactions associated with the playlist may subsequently be monitored, where, in response to detecting a user interaction while monitoring, a number of user interactions that have been received subsequent to the user input may be determined. The number of user interactions may be compared to a threshold number, and, when the number of user interactions corresponds to the threshold number, the media asset may be inserted into the playlist.

BACKGROUND

Playlist-based media consumption is becoming more popular with eachpassing day. For example, Internet radio stations are becoming widelyused. Playlist-based media consumption providers face a problem ofmonetizing their products through advertising in a manner that considersand appropriately weighs various user interactions to determine whenadvertisements should be utilized. Playlist-based media consumptionproviders also face a problem of providing content that a user desiresto consume, and deciding whether and when media content that a user doesnot presently desire to consume should be again presented to the user.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems are provided herein for determining a dynamicadvertisement schedule. For example, in an effort to better monetizeplaylist services, a playlist-based media consumption provider maymonitor user activity and base the timing or content of an advertisementon the user activity. As one example, a playlist provider may determinewhen to play advertisements as a function of how often a user skips ordelays a media asset of a playlist. Furthermore, different useractivities (e.g., skips or delays) may cause different effects to theadvertisement schedule. The effects of the different user activities onthe advertisement schedule may be reflective of the costs incurred bythe advertiser and/or content provider when generating playlists, theloss of attention and/or interest of the user if advertisements areplayed too often, etc.

In some aspects, control circuitry associates a first value with aselectable delay option on a playlist menu (e.g., a “thumbs down”button), and associates a second value with a selectable skip option onthe playlist menu (e.g., a “skip” or “fast forward” button). Each timethe control circuitry receives a selection of selectable delay option,the control circuitry may add the first value to a composite value, andeach time the control circuitry receives a selection of the selectableskip option, the control circuitry may add the second value to thecomposite value. The first value and the second value may differ fromone another, such that a selectable delay option has a higher weightthan the selectable skip option, or vice versa. When a user selection ofeither the selectable delay option or the selectable skip option isreceived by the control circuitry, the control circuitry may retrievethe composite value. The user selection may be detected by the controlcircuitry when the control circuitry receives user input of a selectionof either the selectable skip or delay option via a mouse or pointerdevice, one's finger, a stylus, or any other method of user input. Theretrieved composite value may be compared to a threshold value by thecontrol circuitry, and when the control circuitry determines that thecomposite value corresponds to the threshold value, an advertisement maybe generated for display on a display screen by the control circuitryand the composite value may be reset by the control circuitry.

In some embodiments, in response to control circuitry receiving a userselection of the selectable delay option, a media asset is removed froma playlist for a period of time by the control circuitry. For example,if a user presses a “thumbs down” button while a song is playing on anInternet radio station, the song may be removed from a playlist that theInternet radio station is based on for, e.g., a month. In someembodiments, the period of time may be specified by a user. For example,the user may select how long a song is to be delayed on a menu. Asanother example, the user may input a custom amount of time the userdesires a song be delayed.

In some embodiments, when control circuitry detects a user selection ofa skip option, a media asset may be caused to cease playing back by thecontrol circuitry, and the next media asset of a playlist may be playedback. The skipped media asset may not be played back again until theplaylist cycles back to the skipped media asset. For example, if a skipbutton is pressed while a song is playing, the system may skip to thenext song, and the song that was skipped may be reserved to be playedagain several hours later when the rest of the playlist has been playedback and the skipped song is reached again.

In some embodiments, when control circuitry determines that theselectable skip option is selected, a notification may be generated fordisplay that a media asset has been skipped. For example, if the song“Winter Wonderland” by Ray Charles is playing when the selectable skipoption is selected, a notice may be displayed indicating that “WinterWonderland” has been skipped.

In some embodiments, when the control circuitry determines that theselectable delay option is selected, a notification may be generated fordisplay that a media asset has been delayed. For example, if the song“Winter Wonderland” by Ray Charles is playing when the selectable skipoption is selected, control circuitry may cause a notice to be displayedindicating that “Winter Wonderland” has been delayed. An indication ofhow long “Winter Wonderland” has been delayed may also be displayed inthe notice.

In some embodiments, control circuitry may determine that a subscriptionpayment has been received from the user, and may adjust the thresholdvalue to be a higher value in response to receipt of the subscriptionpayment. For example, a user may pay money to an Internet radioprovider, and, in exchange, the Internet radio provider may reduce theamount of advertisements displayed to the user. In some embodiments,advertisements may be removed completely when a subscription payment isreceived.

In some embodiments, content of the advertisements may be contextuallyrelated to content consumed during the current playlist session. Forexample, if “Winter Wonderland” by Ray Charles is playing,winter-related advertisements may be displayed, such as advertisementsfor Christmas ornaments or ski clothes.

Methods and systems are also provided herein for modifying playlists ofmedia assets. For example, when a song is skipped or delayed, anInternet radio provider may deem it desirable to eventually play thesong again at a particular time in order to maintain user interest inthe current Internet radio station. Furthermore, content providers mayhave a limited number of media assets available thus necessitating therepetition of some songs, even if a user indicates a desire to delay orskip a particular media asset. However, because a user has indicatedthat he or she does not wish to hear the song at this moment, the mediaguidance application needs to determine how long the media asset shouldbe skipped or delayed to maintain the interest of the user in the mediacontent.

In some aspects, control circuitry may receive a user input that causesa media asset in a playlist to cease from being played back and to beremoved from the playlist. For example, a “Delay” button may be pressedwhile a song is playing back that causes the song to stop playing, andthe next song on a playlist or an advertisement to begin playing. Userinteractions associated with the playlist may subsequently be monitoredby control circuitry, where, in response to detecting a user interactionwhile monitoring, a number of user interactions that have been receivedsubsequent to the user input may be determined by control circuitry. Theuser interactions may include, for example, pressing a “Like” or “ThumbsUp” button, requesting more information about a song, exiting andre-entering a playlist, and the like. The number of user interactionsmay be compared to a threshold number by control circuitry, and, whencontrol circuitry determines that the number of user interactionscorresponds to the threshold number, the media asset may be caused to beinserted into the playlist by the control circuitry. For example, when acertain amount of user activity has occurred since a song was delayed,the control circuitry may determine that it would be appropriate toagain schedule the song for playback.

In some embodiments, the user input may be a selection of a selectableskip option. For example, a “Skip” or Fast Forward button may be pressedto cause a media asset such as a song to be skipped.

In some embodiments, the user input may be a selection of a selectabledelay option. For example, a “Dislike” or “Delay” button may be pressedto cause a media asset such as a song to be skipped.

In some embodiments, the predetermined playlist interactions include oneor more of skipping a currently played media asset, delaying a currentlyplayed media asset, closing an application that is playing the currentlyplayed media asset, shuffling the playlist, pausing the currently playedmedia asset, and fast forwarding the currently played media asset. Forexample, a detected playlist interaction may involve closing an Internetbrowser that was playing a song via an Internet radio provider.

In some embodiments, the threshold number may be determined by controlcircuitry based on a number of songs in the playlist. For example, if aplaylist is short, the threshold number may be lower to ensure that theplaylist does not run out of songs for playing.

In some embodiments, the number of user interactions may be reset bycontrol circuitry when the playlist is exited by a user. For example,when a user restarts a playlist session by exiting out of an Internetradio provider's website, the threshold may be reset such that theplaylist is unaffected by the detected user interactions.

In some embodiments, when it is determined by control circuitry that theplaylist is exited by a user, control circuitry may cause the determinednumber of user interactions to be stored at storage circuitry. It maythen be determined by the control circuitry that the playlist is againaccessed by the user, and the determined number of user interactions maybe retrieved from storage by the control circuitry. For example, when auser stops listening to Internet radio, and then resumes listening thenext day, the user interactions detected in the previous interaction mayaffect the playlist of the Internet radio session when listening isresumed. In further embodiments, the user may stop listening at a firstuser equipment device, and may resume listening at a second userequipment device, and the user interactions detected in the previousinteraction at the first device may affect the playlist of the Internetradio session of the second device.

In some embodiments, when the media asset is caused to be inserted intothe playlist by the control circuitry, it may be inserted into the backof the playlist. In other embodiments, the media asset may beselectively inserted by the control circuitry into a position of theplaylist. For example, if a user specifies that a song is to be delayedfor one hour, the song may be inserted after an hour of other media hasbeen played back.

It should be noted, the systems and/or methods described above may becombined with, applied to, or used in accordance with, other systems,methods and/or apparatuses discussed both above and below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative embodiment of a display screen that may beused to provide media guidance application listings and other mediaguidance information in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative embodiment of a display screen thatmay be used to provide media guidance application listings in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment (UE) devicein accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5A shows an illustrative embodiment of a display screen including aplaylist menu in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5B shows an illustrative embodiment of a display screen including aplaylist menu and an advertisement in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in determining adynamic advertisement schedule in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in determining acomposite value for determining a dynamic advertisement schedule inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in modifyingplaylists of media assets in accordance with some embodiments of theinvention; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in determiningwhether to modify a playlist of media assets in accordance with someembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Methods and systems are provided herein for determining a dynamicadvertisement schedule. For example, in an effort to better monetizeplaylist services, a playlist-based media consumption provider maymonitor user activity and base the timing or content of an advertisementon the user activity. As one example, a playlist provider may determinewhen to play advertisements as a function of how often a user skips ordelays a media asset of a playlist.

In some aspects, control circuitry associates a first value with aselectable delay option on a playlist menu (e.g., a “thumbs down”button), and associates a second value with a selectable skip option onthe playlist menu (e.g., a “skip” or “fast forward” button). Each timethe control circuitry receives a selection of selectable delay option,the control circuitry may add the first value may be added to acomposite value, and each time the control circuitry receives aselection of the selectable skip option, the control circuitry may addthe second value to the composite value. The first value and the secondvalue may differ from one another, such that a selectable delay optionhas a higher weight than the selectable skip option, or vice versa. Whena user selection of either the selectable delay option or the selectableskip option is received by the control circuitry, the control circuitrymay retrieve the composite value. The user selection may be detected bythe control circuitry when the control circuitry receives user input ofa selection of either the selectable skip or delay option via a mouse orpointer device, one's finger, a stylus, or any other method of userinput. The retrieved composite value may be compared to a thresholdvalue by the control circuitry, and when the control circuitrydetermines that the composite value corresponds to the threshold value,an advertisement may be generated for display on a display screen by thecontrol circuitry and the composite value may be reset by the controlcircuitry.

Methods and systems are also provided herein for modifying playlists ofmedia assets. For example, when a song is skipped or delayed, anInternet radio provider may deem it desirable to play the song again ata particular time in order to maintain user interest in a currentInternet radio station.

In some aspects, control circuitry may receive a user input that causesa media asset in a playlist to cease from being played back and to beremoved from the playlist. For example, a “Skip” button may be pressedwhile a song is playing back that causes the song to stop playing, andanother song or an advertisement to begin playing. User interactionsassociated with the playlist may subsequently be monitored by controlcircuitry, where, in response to detecting a user interaction whilemonitoring, a number of user interactions that have been receivedsubsequent to the user input may be determined by control circuitry. Theuser interactions may include, for example, pressing a “Like” or “ThumbsUp” button, requesting more information about a song, exiting andre-entering a playlist, and the like. The number of user interactionsmay be compared to a threshold number by control circuitry, and, whencontrol circuitry determines that the number of user interactionscorresponds to the threshold number, the media asset may be caused to beinserted into the playlist by the control circuitry. For example, when acertain amount of user activity has occurred since a song was skipped,the control circuitry may determine that it would be appropriate toagain schedule the song for playback.

The term “playlist” wherever used in this disclosure refers to anaggregation of media assets designated for consecutive playback. Themedia assets of the playlist may be aggregated manually orautomatically. Media other than the media assets of the playlist maydisrupt the consecutive playback of the media assets of the playlist.For example, an advertisement may be played between two adjacent mediaassets of the playlist. The contents of a playlist need not be organizedor displayed in the form of a list, as the playlist may comprise anyform of organization or aggregation of media assets.

The term “playlist menu” wherever used in this disclosure refers to acollection of one or more selectable options that, when selected, affectany of a playlist, media within a playlist, or the playback of mediawithin a playlist A playlist menu may further include a display of oneor more media assets included within the playlist. Selectable optionsmay include options such as “skip,” “like,” “dislike,” “delay,” “fastforward,” “delete,” and any other option that affects a playlist, mediawithin a playlist, or the playback of media within a playlist. The term“playlist menu” may be used interchangeably with the word “dashboard;”each term carries identical weight and effect.

The term “delay” wherever used in this disclosure refers to the act ofcausing a next occurrence of a media asset in a playlist to be delayedin any possible manner. A media asset may be delayed for a period oftime, or for the duration of a particular number of media assets. Thedelay may be determined automatically by control circuitry, or may bemanually selected by a user. At the expiration of a delay, a media assetmay be inserted back into a playlist. A delay may be accomplished bymoving a media asset to a different position than its original positionon a playlist, or by removing a media asset from a playlist entirelyuntil a delay condition is satisfied. A delay condition is a conditionthat, when satisfied, signals that a media asset is to be inserted intoa playlist (e.g., a requisite period of time has passed since a song wasdelayed).

The term “skip” wherever used in this disclosure refers to the act ofcausing a media asset in a playlist to be skipped over, but the mediaasset's position in the playlist to not be disturbed. As such, the mediaasset that was skipped over may be played again when a playlist has beenplayed through and the next media asset on the playlist is again theskipped media asset.

As referred to herein, the phrase “fast-access playback operations”should be understood to mean any operation that pertains to playing backa non-linear media asset at faster than normal playback speed or in adifferent order than the media asset is designed to be played, such as afast-forward, rewind, skip, chapter selection, segment selection, skipsegment, jump segment, next segment, previous segment, skipadvertisement, or commercial, next chapter, previous chapter or anyother operation that does not play back the media asset at normalplayback speed. The fast-access playback operation may be any playbackoperation that is not “play,” where the play operation plays back themedia asset at normal playback speed.

The term “user interaction” wherever used in this disclosure refers toany interaction that a user may have that affects a playlist, a mediaasset of a playlist, or the playback of a media asset of a playlist. Theterm “user interaction” may also refer to any interaction that a userhas that affects any aspect of a playlist menu, such as an interactionthat causes further media to appear or disappear from a playlist menu,or an interaction that causes media to playback or stop playing back(e.g., pausing or resuming an advertisement). A user interaction mayspecifically include an interaction that causes fast-access playbackoperations to execute. A user interaction may also specifically includea user interaction that causes a media asset to be assessed a rating, aninteraction that causes a media asset to be delayed or skipped, and/oran interaction that indicates a user's interest in a media asset.

The amount of content available to users in any given content deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate a playlist and easily identify content that they may desire. Anapplication that provides such guidance is referred to herein as aninteractive media guidance application or, sometimes, a media guidanceapplication or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type ofmedia guidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate and select content. As referred to herein, the terms“media asset” and “content” should be understood to mean anelectronically consumable user asset, such as television programming, aswell as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand(VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadablecontent, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information,pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles,books, electronic books, blogs, advertisements, chat sessions, socialmedia, applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/orcombination of the same. Guidance applications also allow users tonavigate among and locate content. As referred to herein, the term“multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes at leasttwo different content forms described above, for example, text, audio,images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded,played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices, but can also bepart of a live performance.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment deviceson which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase“user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronicdevice,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “mediadevice” should be understood to mean any device for accessing thecontent described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-topbox, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellitetelevision, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), adigital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, aDVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, aBLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PCmedia server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationarytelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computingequipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In someembodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screenand a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angledscreens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a frontfacing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipmentdevices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as online applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase, “mediaguidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any datarelated to content, such as media listings, media-related information(e.g., broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions,ratings information (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings,etc.), genre or category information, actor information, logo data forbroadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standarddefinition, high definition, 3D, etc.), advertisement information (e.g.,text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information, blogs,websites, and any other type of guidance data that is helpful for a userto navigate among and locate desired content selections.

FIGS. 1-2 show illustrative display screens that may be used to providemedia guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS. 1-2, 5A, and 5Bmay be implemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform.While the displays of FIGS. 1-2, 5A, and 5B are illustrated as fullscreen displays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid overcontent being displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access contentinformation by selecting a selectable option provided in a displayscreen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a hyperlink,etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remotecontrol or other user input interface or device. In response to theuser's indication, the media guidance application may provide a displayscreen with media guidance data organized in one of several ways, suchas by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by source, bycontent type, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, orother categories of programming), or other predefined, user-defined, orother organization criteria. The organization of the media guidance datais determined by guidance application data. As referred to herein, thephrase, “guidance application data” should be understood to mean dataused in operating the guidance application, such as program information,guidance application settings, user preferences, or user profileinformation. The display screens of FIGS. 1 and 2 may be utilized toselect content for populating a playlist.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that also enables access to different types of contentin a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a columnof channel/content type identifiers 104, where each channel/content typeidentifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a differentchannel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers106, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifiesa time block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of programlistings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides thetitle of the program provided on the listing's associated channel andtime. With a user input device, a user can select program listings bymoving highlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined time and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet website or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 102 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 114, recorded content listing 116, andInternet content listing 118. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 100 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayedin grid 102 to indicate that selection of these listings may provideaccess to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings,or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings forthese content types may be included directly in grid 102. Additionalmedia guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming), is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the content listingsin grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or servicesrelated or unrelated to the content displayed in grid 102. Advertisement124 may be selectable and provide further information about content,provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing ofcontent, a product, or a service, provide content relating to theadvertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user'sprofile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of displayprovided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over content or a guidanceapplication display or embedded within a display. Advertisements mayalso include text, images, rotating images, video clips, or other typesof content described above. Advertisements may be stored in a userequipment device having a guidance application, in a database connectedto the user equipment, in a remote location (including streaming mediaservers), or on other storage means, or a combination of theselocations. Providing advertisements in a media guidance application isdiscussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2003/0110499, filed Jan. 17, 2003; Ward, IIIet al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004; and Schein et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will beappreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidanceapplication display screens of the embodiments described herein.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user byselecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignablebutton on a user input device. The selectable options within optionsregion 126 may concern features related to program listings in grid 102or may include options available from a main menu display. Featuresrelated to program listings may include searching for other air times orways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling seriesrecording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a mainmenu display may include search options, VOD options, parental controloptions, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronizationoptions, second screen device options, options to access various typesof media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premiumservice, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browseoverlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channelsbased on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display ofchannels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internetcontent (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail,electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desiredcustomizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other websites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other interactive applications theuser accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.),and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that themedia guidance application may access. As a result, a user can beprovided with a unified guidance application experience across theuser's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 4. Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2. Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 forcontent information organized based on content type, genre, and/or otherorganization criteria. In display 200, television listings option 204 isselected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, and 212 as broadcastprogram listings. In display 200 the listings may provide graphicalimages including cover art, still images from the content, video clippreviews, live video from the content, or other types of content thatindicate to a user the content being described by the media guidancedata in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also beaccompanied by text to provide further information about the contentassociated with the listing. For example, listing 208 may include morethan one portion, including media portion 214 and text portion 216.Media portion 214 and/or text portion 216 may be selectable to viewcontent in full-screen or to view information related to the contentdisplayed in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for the channelthat the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 206 islarger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider orbased on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Dec. 29, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 300. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 4.User equipment device 300 may receive content and data via input/output(hereinafter “I/O”) path 302. I/O path 302 may provide content (e.g.,broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, contentavailable over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 304, which includesprocessing circuitry 306 and storage 308. Control circuitry 304 may beused to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 302. I/O path 302 may connect control circuitry 304 (andspecifically processing circuitry 306) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 306. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 308). Specifically, control circuitry 304 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 304 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 304 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, adigital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card,or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or anyother suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4). Inaddition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enablespeer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communicationof user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (describedin more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 308 thatis part of control circuitry 304. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 308 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance data and guidance application data that are described above.Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routineand other instructions). Cloud-based storage, described in relation toFIG. 4, may be used to supplement storage 308 or instead of storage 308.

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 308 is provided as a separate device from userequipment 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multipletuners) may be associated with storage 308.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 304 using user inputinterface 310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 312 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300. For example, display 312 may be a touchscreen ortouch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface 312may be integrated with or combined with display 312. Display 312 may beone or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD)for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperature polysilicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display, activematrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display, cathoderay tube display, light-emitting diode display, electroluminescentdisplay, plasma display panel, high-performance addressing display,thin-film transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display,surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser television,carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric modulatordisplay, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images.In some embodiments, display 312 may be HDTV-capable. In someembodiments, display 312 may be a 3D display, and the interactive mediaguidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. Avideo card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 312.The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated renderingof 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry304. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 304.Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 312 may be played throughspeakers 314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers314.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application whollyimplemented on user equipment device 300. In such an approach,instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., in storage308), and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodicbasis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, orusing another suitable approach). Control circuitry 304 may retrieveinstructions of the application from storage 308 and process theinstructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based onthe processed instructions, control circuitry 304 may determine whataction to perform when input is received from input interface 310. Forexample, movement of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated bythe processed instructions when input interface 310 indicates that anup/down button was selected.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-serverbased application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented onuser equipment device 300 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests toa server remote to the user equipment device 300. In one example of aclient-server based guidance application, control circuitry 304 runs aweb browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server. Forexample, the remote server may store the instructions for theapplication in a storage device. The remote server may process thestored instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304) andgenerate the displays discussed above and below. The client device mayreceive the displays generated by the remote server and may display thecontent of the displays locally on equipment device 300. This way, theprocessing of the instructions is performed remotely by the server whilethe resulting displays are provided locally on equipment device 300.Equipment device 300 may receive inputs from the user via inputinterface 310 and transmit those inputs to the remote server forprocessing and generating the corresponding displays. For example,equipment device 300 may transmit a communication to the remote serverindicating that an up/down button was selected via input interface 310.The remote server may process instructions in accordance with that inputand generate a display of the application corresponding to the input(e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). The generated display isthen transmitted to equipment device 300 for presentation to the user.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 304). In some embodiments, the guidance applicationmay be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received bycontrol circuitry 304 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by auser agent running on control circuitry 304. For example, the guidanceapplication may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, theguidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files thatare received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitablemiddleware executed by control circuitry 304. In some of suchembodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3 can be implemented in system 400 ofFIG. 4 as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404,wireless user communications device 406, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gamingmachine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may besubstantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 3 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, or awireless user communications device 406. For example, user televisionequipment 402 may, like some user computer equipment 404, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 404 may, like some television equipment 402, includea tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 404, theguidance application may be provided as a website accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 406.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wireless user communicationsdevice 406) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example,a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first userequipment device. The content presented on the second screen device maybe any suitable content that supplements the content presented on thefirst device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides aninterface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the firstdevice. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured forinteracting with other second screen devices or for interacting with asocial network. The second screen device can be located in the same roomas the first device, a different room from the first device but in thesame house or building, or in a different building from the firstdevice.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the website www.allrovi.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 414.Namely, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, andwireless user communications device 406 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 414 via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively.Communications network 414 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, orother types of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together include oneor more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g.,IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 it is awireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 408, 410, and 412, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 414.

System 400 includes content source 416 and media guidance data source418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths 420and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the content source 416 and media guidancedata source 418 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between sources 416 and 418 withuser equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 are shown as throughcommunications network 414, in some embodiments, sources 416 and 418 maycommunicate directly with user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 viacommunication paths (not shown) such as those described above inconnection with paths 408, 410, and 412.

Content source 416 may include one or more types of content distributionequipment including a television distribution facility, cable systemheadend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g.,television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediatedistribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demandmedia servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned bythe National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by theAmerican Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Content source 416 may be the originator ofcontent (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) ormay not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand contentprovider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs fordownloading, etc.). Content source 416 may include cable sources,satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 416 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance application datamay be provided to the user equipment devices using any suitableapproach. In some embodiments, the guidance application may be astand-alone interactive television program guide that receives programguide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed).Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to theuser equipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-banddigital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any othersuitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and othermedia guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analogor digital television channels.

Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to theuser equipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-banddigital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any othersuitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and othermedia guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analogor digital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 418may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 418 to obtainguidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of dateor when the user equipment device receives a request from the user toreceive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment withany suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specifiedperiod of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to arequest from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 418 mayprovide user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 308, and executedby control circuitry 304 of a user equipment device 300. In someembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 304 of user equipment device 300and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., mediaguidance data source 418) running on control circuitry of the remoteserver. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such asmedia guidance data source 418), the media guidance application mayinstruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance applicationdisplays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipmentdevices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry ofthe media guidance data source 418 to transmit data for storage on theuser equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry ofthe receiving user equipment to generate the guidance applicationdisplays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices402, 404, and 406 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 4.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 414.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 416 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 402 and user computer equipment 404may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 406 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 414. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 416 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 418. In addition or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wirelessuser communications device 406. For example, the other user equipmentdevices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamedvideo. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in apeer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-storedcontent.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 404 or wireless usercommunications device 406 having content capture feature. Alternatively,the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, suchas user computer equipment 404. The user equipment device storing thecontent uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmissionservice on communications network 414. In some embodiments, the userequipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipmentdevices can access the content directly from the user equipment deviceon which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device candownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 3.

In some embodiments, when a user is consuming media assets, the user mayview a playlist menu to manage and interact with a playlist. The menumay enable the user to, e.g., pause, play, or skip a media asset that iscurrently playing. The user may interact with the menu via any knownuser input interface (e.g., user input interface 310) and may view theplaylist menu on a display of a user equipment device (e.g., display312).

FIG. 5A shows an illustrative embodiment of a display screen including aplaylist menu in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.Following from FIG. 5A, playlist menu 500 a may include various options.Option 502 a may be a “Thumbs Up” option or “Like” option. When option502 a is selected (e.g., via user input interface 310), controlcircuitry 304 may cause a presently playing media asset to appear ingreater frequency on a playlist. Alternatively, or additionally, whenoption 502 a is selected, control circuitry 304 may cause a media assetthat is related to a presently playing media asset to appear in greaterfrequency on a playlist. Furthermore, when option 502 a is selected,control circuitry 304 may cause an advertisement to be displayed (e.g.,on display 312) that has a context related to the context of a presentlyplaying media asset.

Option 504 a may be a “Thumbs Down” or a “Dislike” option. When option504 a is selected (e.g., via user input interface 310), controlcircuitry 304 may cause a presently playing media asset to be removedfrom a playlist. When option 504 a is selected, control circuitry 304may also cause a presently playing media asset to appear in a lesserfrequency on a playlist or to disappear from a playlist altogether. Whenoption 504 a is selected, control circuitry 304 may alternatively oradditionally cause a media asset that is related to a presently playingmedia asset to appear in lesser frequency on a playlist or to disappearfrom the playlist altogether. Additionally or alternatively, when option504 a is selected, control circuitry 304 may cause a media asset to bedelayed. The delay functionality will be discussed with further detailwith respect to option 512 a below. Options 504 a and 512 a may, in someembodiments, share similar functionality and may be combined into onesingle option.

Option 506 a may be a “Play” or “Begin” option. When option 506 a isselected (e.g., via user input interface 310), control circuitry 304 maycause a media asset to begin playing if playback of the media asset hasnot yet begun, or may cause a media asset to resume playing if playbackof the media asset is paused.

Option 508 a may be a “Pause” option. When option 508 a is selected(e.g., via user input interface 310), control circuitry 304 may cause apresently playing media asset to be paused. Selection of the pauseoption may cause control circuitry 304 to pause any media that iscontrollable via the playlist menu, such as an advertisement or a video.Control circuitry 304 may cause a media asset or any other media toresume upon a second selection of pause option 508. Control circuitry304 may also cause a media asset or any other media to be played back inresponse to selection of thumbs up option 502 a, thumbs down option 504a, play option 506 a, skip option 510 a, or delay option 512 a.

Option 510 a may be a “Skip” option. When option 510 a is selected(e.g., via user input interface 310), control circuitry 304 may cause apresently playing media asset to be skipped. Control circuitry 304 maycause a media asset to be skipped by ceasing to play back the mediaasset, and by beginning to play a next media asset on a playlist or byplaying an advertisement. Control circuitry 304 may disable theinteractivity of skip option 510 a when certain conditions are met. Forexample, if a threshold number of media assets have been skipped duringa predetermined period of time, control circuitry 304 may prevent a userfrom skipping further media assets by disabling the interactivity ofskip option 510 a. Control circuitry 304 may enable the interactivity ofskip option 510 a after a further predetermined period of time elapses.

Option 512 a may be a “Delay” option. When delay option 512 a isselected, control circuitry 304 may cause a presently playing mediaasset to be skipped. Alternatively, control circuitry 304 may enable thepresently playing media asset to continue playing. Control circuitry 304may automatically cause the currently playing media asset to beprevented from playing back for a predetermined amount of time followingselection of the Delay option, or may prevent the currently playing songfrom playing back until a predetermined number of other media assetshave been consumed. Control circuitry 304 may alternatively generate amenu for display (e.g., menu 514 a) on, e.g., display 312, that enablesmanual selection of a time for which the media asset shall be delayed.Manual selection options for delay may include a menu of selectableperiods of time. For example, should a user select “DON'T PLAY FOR 6MONTHS” from menu 514 a (e.g., via user input interface 310), controlcircuitry 304 may prevent the currently playing media asset frompopulating a playlist for six months. Alternatively, a user may enter acustom delay period by inputting a period of time into the custom delayoption of menu 514 a (e.g., via user input interface 310). The user mayinput this time by typing text into a text box, selecting from a dropdown menu, or the like. Control circuitry 304 may responsively cause thecurrently playing media asset from populating a playlist for thespecified period of time. Delay option 512 a may cause the samefunctionality as provided Skip option 510 a to be executed by controlcircuitry 304, including the ability to skip media assets, and to bedisabled by control circuitry 304.

Media asset representation 516 a may represent a presently playing mediaasset. FIG. 5A depicts media asset representation 516 a as it may appearif the song “Winter Wonderland” by Ray Charles is playing. In this case,control circuitry 304 may cause the background of media assetrepresentation 516 a to be a related pictorial, such as an album cover(e.g., the album cover of “The Spirit of Christmas.” In someembodiments, a presently playing media asset may have a video component(e.g., a video episode or a stand-up comedy segment). Where a mediaasset has a video component, this component may be played back in mediaasset representation 516. Playlist menu option 502 a, 504 a, 506 a, 508a, 510 a, and 512 a may apply to a media asset with a video component inthe same manner described in the foregoing.

In some embodiments, descriptive information 518 a may be generated fordisplay on the playlist menu by control circuitry 304. Descriptiveinformation 518 a may include information relating to a currentlyplaying media asset, such as a title, an author, an album, an episodename, a season of an episode, and any other identifying information of apresently playing media asset. For example, if the presently playingmedia asset is Winter Wonderland by Ray Charles, descriptive information518 a may indicate the song title and the author, as well as the albumtitle “The Spirit of Christmas.” Descriptive information may in someembodiments be displayed whenever a currently playing media asset isplaying. In other embodiments, media asset representation 516 may beinteractive, where, when media asset 516 a is selected, controlcircuitry 304 may generate descriptive information 518 a for display. Infurther embodiments, a selectable option may be generated for display onplaylist 500 a where, when the selectable option is selected (e.g., viauser input interface 310), descriptive information 518 a is generatedfor display on playlist menu 500 a.

In some embodiments, “About” section 520 a may be generated for displayon display 312 by control circuitry 304, such that playlist menu 500 aincludes section 520 a. In some embodiments, section 520 a may appear onplaylist menu 500 a automatically when a media asset is playing. In someembodiments, descriptive information 518 a is interactive, and, whendescriptive information 518 a is selected (e.g., via user inputinterface 310), “about” section 520 a is responsively generated fordisplay by control circuitry 304. “About” section 520 a may comprisefurther descriptive information that relates to a currently playingmedia asset, such as information about an artist or an episode or aseries.

In some embodiments, “Similar Media” section 522 a may be generated fordisplay on display 312 by control circuitry 304, such that playlist menu500 a includes section 522 a. In some embodiments, similar media section522 a may include media that shares the same context as a currentlyplaying media asset. For example, if the currently playing media assetis Ray Charles' Winter Wonderland, similar media section 522 a maycomprise media assets by similar artists, or media assets that arerelated to Christmas, and the like. Similar media section 522 a is notlimited to media assets that are deliverable over the Internet, and mayinclude advertisements for products or services that are contextuallyrelated to a currently playing media asset. For example, controlcircuitry 304 may cause similar media section 522 a to includeadvertisements for Christmas ornaments, or for a location where a SantaClause will meet and greet children. For example, control circuitry 304may determine a frequency that certain similar media should appear insimilar media section 522 a based on a score. The score may be based onthe amount of times a particular artist or song or show has been playedduring a period of time. In one example, the score may be based on acomposite value, where each time a media asset is displayed, a number isadded to a composite value relating to attributes of the media asset,and similar media section 522 a may include media relating to anattribute with the highest composite value. For example, if songs byartist Eminem are played more than any other song in a playlist, thensimilar media section 522 a may portray media related to Eminem, such asartists with similar styles, or advertisements for Eminem albums thatare purchasable.

In some embodiments, when a user selects delay option 512 a (e.g., viauser input interface 310), a first value associated with delay option512 a is added to a composite value by control circuitry 304. Similarly,when a user selects skip option 510 a, a second value associated withskip option 510 a is added to the composite value by control circuitry304. The first value may be associated with delay option 512 a instorage circuitry. Similarly, the second value may be associated withskip option 512 a in storage circuitry. The storage circuitry may belocal (e.g., storage 308) or remote (e.g., media guidance data source418) and accessible via a communications network (e.g. communicationsnetwork 414). The composite value may be stored at the same or differentstorage circuitry, and may be initialized to zero.

Control circuitry 304 may determine that the composite value correspondsto the threshold value. For example, control circuitry 304 may determinethat the composite value equals or exceeds the threshold value. Inresponse to this determination, control circuitry may cause anadvertisement to be played back. In some embodiments, the advertisementmay be an audio advertisement. In other embodiments, as will bediscussed with reference to FIG. 5B, control circuitry 304 may generatean advertisement for display.

In some embodiments, control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304) maykeep track of how many times a selectable delay option is selected, andmay keep track of how many times a selectable skip option is selected.The control circuitry may add a weighted value to a composite value eachtime the selectable delay option and the selectable skip option isselected. When the control circuitry determines that the composite valuehas reached a threshold value, the control circuitry may cause anadvertisement to be displayed on the playlist menu in lieu of anext-scheduled song on a playlist.

FIG. 5B is a block diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a displayscreen including a playlist menu and an advertisement in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 5B contains playlist options502 b, 504 b, 506 b, 508 b, 510 b, and 512 b. The functionality of eachplaylist option is consistent with that described in the foregoing withrespect to FIG. 5A. Similarly, the functionality of “About” section 520b and “Similar Media” section 522 b operate in a manner consistent withthat described in the foregoing with respect to FIG. 5A.

In FIG. 5B, while media asset representation 516 a is not depicted, andinstead has been replaced with advertisement 524 b by control circuitry304, such replacement is optional. In some embodiments, advertisement524 b may be generated for display in tandem with media assetrepresentation 516 a. In some embodiments, advertisement 524 b willreplace media asset representation 516 a when control circuitry 304determines that the composite value exceeds the threshold. In someembodiments, advertisement 524 b will be generated for display bycontrol circuitry 304 in a manner that does not replace media assetrepresentation 516 a in playlist menu 500 b. Advertisement 524 b may bea still image, a textual description, or a full-motion video.Advertisement 524 b may be interactive. For example, Advertisement 524 bmay be a game that interacts with user input, such as user inputdetected by control circuitry 304 via user input interface 312.Advertisement 524 b may be controllable by selectable options 502 b, 504b, 506 b, 508 b, 510 b, and/or 512 b. For example, advertisement 524 bmay be paused by selection of option 508 b in a manner consistent withthat described in the foregoing. As another example, advertisement 524 bmay be delayed via selection of delay option 512 b in a mannerconsistent with that described in the foregoing, such that a currentlyplaying advertisement does not appear for a specified period of time.Selectable options 502 b, 504 b, 506 b, 508 b, 510 b, and/or 512 b mayhave their interactivity disabled by control circuitry 304. For example,control circuitry may force a user to view or listen to an advertisement(e.g., advertisement 524 b) by not permitting the user to pause, skip,or delay the advertisement.

In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 may cause advertisement 524 bto be contextually related to media assets within a playlist. In otherembodiments, control circuitry 304 may cause advertisement 524 b to becontextually related to user profile information, such as media assetsthe user profile has liked or sought additional information about. Forexample, if control circuitry 304 detects the selection of “Like” button502 a while Ray Charles' “Winter Wonderland” is playing, controlcircuitry 304 may select advertisement 524 b to be an advertisement forChristmas ornaments, or for a location where a Santa Clause will meetand greet with children.

Notification section 526 b may be generated for display by controlcircuitry 304 in playlist menu 500 b. Notification section 526 b mayserve to notify a user about any change in circumstances. As depicted,notification section 526 b informs a user that “The Spirit of Christmas”has been skipped. Notification section 526 b may be generated inresponse to the selection of a selectable option, such as selectableskip option 510 b. Notification section 526 b may be generated fordisplay by control circuitry 304 to reflect any conceivable activity orstatus, such as the fact that a user liked a media asset in the past,that a media asset has been played or skipped a certain number of times,that a media asset has been delayed for a period of time, or any otheractivity or status.

In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 may determine that asubscription payment has been received from a user. Control circuitry304 may determine that a subscription payment has been received byaccessing a user profile stored on a database (e.g., media guidance datasource 418) via communications 414 and detecting metadata that reflectsa subscription. A subscription may be made via playlist 500 a by controlcircuitry 304 detecting a selection of a selectable “subscribe” option(not depicted). Payment may be received by control circuitry 304 by anyknown method (e.g., a credit card payment, etc).

In response to determining that a subscription payment has beenreceived, control circuitry 304 may adjust the threshold value to be ahigher value than the threshold value's original value. In someembodiments, the threshold value may be adjusted in an amountproportional to the amount of subscription money received. The neteffect of this feature is to reduce advertisements sent to the user, oreliminate them entirely, should a user subscribe to a playlist serviceproviding playlist menu 500 a.

In some embodiments, a user input may occur that causes controlcircuitry 304 to stop a media asset in a playlist from playing back, andalso causes control circuitry 304 to remove the media asset from theplaylist. For example, if a user selects selectable “Skip” option 510 a,control circuitry 304 may cause a currently playing media asset to stopplaying. A similar outcome may arise from a user selecting selectable“Thumbs Down” option 504 a, selectable “Pause” option 508 a, orselectable “Delay” option 512 a. Subsequent to the receipt of the userinput that causes the media asset to cease from playing back and beremoved from the playlist, control circuitry 304 may monitor for userinteractions associated with the playlist. A user interaction mayinclude any interaction discussed in this disclosure, including aninteraction with interactive media asset representation 516 a,advertisement 524 b, or any other user interaction. A user interactionmay also include the act of closing an application that is playing thecurrently played media asset, shuffling a playlist, or fast-forwardingthe currently played media asset.

Control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304) may compute a number ofuser interactions associated with the playlist that have been receivedsubsequent to the initial user input that caused the media asset fromplaying back and being removed from the playlist. The computation may befacilitated by adding “1” to a counter each time an interaction isdetected. A running computation of the number of user interactions maybe stored locally (e.g., in storage 308) or remotely (e.g., in mediaguidance data source 418). Similarly, a threshold number may be storedlocally (e.g., in storage 308) or remotely (e.g., in media guidance datasource 418). The threshold number may indicate a number of userinteractions that must occur since the initial user input before afunction is performed by control circuitry. For example, the thresholdnumber may reflect that at least 50 user interactions must occur after asong is skipped before the song is inserted back into the playlist.Control circuitry 304 may retrieve the number of user interactions andthe threshold from their storage locations via a query sent viacommunications network 414. Control circuitry 304 may then compare thenumber of user interactions to the threshold number, and, in response todetermining that the number of user interactions corresponds to thethreshold number, control circuitry 304 may insert the media asset thatwas initially caused to cease from playing and be removed from theplaylist to be inserted back into the playlist.

In some embodiments, the threshold number may be determined based on anumber of media assets in the playlist. For example, if a playlist isshort, the threshold number may be lower such that the songs areinserted back into the playlist to avoid the playlist becomingcompletely depleted.

In some embodiments, the number of user interactions detected may bereset by control circuitry 304 each time the user ceases to utilize theplaylist. The number of user interactions may be reset because theplaylist may be refreshed after the user ceases to utilize the playlist,such that the playlist is in its original form the next time the useraccesses the playlist. For example, control circuitry 304 may instructstorage 308 to reset the number of user interactions to zero when theuser exits from a playlist provider such as an Internet radio service.In other embodiments, when control circuitry 304 determines that theuser ceases to utilize the playlist (e.g., the user has exited aplaylist application), control circuitry 304 may store the determinednumber of user interactions in storage (e.g., storage 308 or mediaguidance data source 418). Subsequently, when control circuitry 304determines that the playlist is again accessed by the user, controlcircuitry may retrieve the stored determined number of user interactionsfrom storage (e.g., by sending a query via communications network 414).When subsequent user interactions are detected by control circuitry 304,control circuitry 304 may resume counting from the stored determinednumber of user interactions.

In some embodiments, a playlist menu may initially be accessed at afirst user equipment device, but may subsequently be accessed at adifferent, second equipment device. In such a case, control circuitry304 may store a number of user interactions detected at storage 308 ormedia guidance data source 418. Control circuitry at a server or at thesecond device may subsequently retrieve the number of user interactionsat the second device and resume counting therefrom in a mannerconsistent with that described in the foregoing when the playlist menuis accessed at the second device.

In some embodiments, the media asset may be selectively inserted into aposition on the playlist. For example, control circuitry 304 maydetermine that a sequence of media assets is substantially related tothe media asset, and may therefore choose to insert the media asset intoa position proximate to the sequence of media assets. In someembodiments, control circuitry 304 may cause the media asset to beinserted into the back of the playlist. For example, control circuitry304 may cause the media asset to be inserted into the back of theplaylist based on a delay selected by a user.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining a dynamicadvertisement schedule for a playlist provider. It should be noted thatprocess 600 or any step thereof could be performed on, or provided by,any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process 600 may beexecuted by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by a mediaguidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipmentdevices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) in order to determine whether toretain media assets (e.g., as discussed in relation to FIGS. 1-2). Inaddition, one or more steps of process 600 may be incorporated into orcombined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment.

In some embodiments, a provider of playlist-based media assets may wishto dynamically schedule advertisements for playback during a playlistsession. The provider may install control circuitry that associates afirst value with a delay option on a playlist menu in storage circuitry,and associates a second value with a skip option in the storagecircuitry. For example, the provider may assign more weight to a delayoption than a skip option, where, if a delay option is selected moreoften than a skip option, control circuitry will generate for display anadvertisement faster than it would have if a skip option was insteaddisplayed. The control circuitry may receive a user selection of eitherthe delay or skip options, add the associated first or second value to acomposite value, and determine whether the composite value has reached athreshold. If it has reached a threshold, the control circuitry maygenerate for display an advertisement and may reset the composite valuein the storage circuitry.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in determining adynamic advertisement schedule in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure. In step 602, control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry304) may associate a first value associated with a selectable delayoption (e.g., delay option 512 a) on a playlist menu (e.g., playlistmenu 500 a). For example, a playlist provider may determine that, when adelay option is selected, a user is most likely to be paying attentionto the playlist menu, so an advertisement should be played sooner ratherthan later. The association may be stored in storage circuitry. Thestorage circuitry may be local (e.g., storage 308) or remote (e.g.,media guidance data source 418). If the storage occurs remotely, controlcircuitry 304 may transmit the association to media guidance data source418 or retrieve the association from media guidance data source 418 viacommunications network 414. When control circuitry 304 detects thatselectable option 512 a has been selected, control circuitry 304 may addthe first value to a composite value associated with a current playlistsession. The composite value may be stored locally or remotely instorage circuitry as described in the foregoing. In step 604, controlcircuitry 304 may associate a second value with a selectable skip option(e.g., skip option 510 a) on the playlist menu, where the second valueis added to the composite value each time the selectable skip option isselected. Similar to the selectable delay option, a playlist providermay believe that, when a selectable skip option is selected, a user islikely to be paying attention to the playlist menu 500 a, so it is anopportune time to play an advertisement. A different weight may beassociated with the skip option because a user may be believed to befocusing less on playlist menu 500 a when skipping a media asset versusdelaying a media asset, as delaying the media asset may requirenavigating through an extra menu (e.g., menu 514 a). The association maybe stored in storage circuitry in any manner described above withrespect to the association of the first value and the selectable delayoption.

In step 606, control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304) may receivea user selection of either the selectable delay option (e.g., delayoption 512 a) or the selectable skip option (e.g., skip option 510 a).For example, during a playlist session (e.g., as navigated usingplaylist menu 500 a), a user may wish to hear a different song. Inresponse to control circuitry 304 receiving the user selection, step 608may be executed, where control circuitry 304 retrieves the compositevalue from storage circuitry (e.g., storage 308).

In step 610, control circuitry 304 may compare the composite value to athreshold value to determine whether the composite value equals orexceeds the threshold value. Control circuitry 304 may execute thiscomparison in order to determine whether it is time to play anadvertisement. For example, if each time delay option 512 a is pressed,control circuitry 304 may add a value of two to the composite value.Furthermore, if each time skip option 510 a is pressed, controlcircuitry 304 may add a value of one to the composite value.Accordingly, if the threshold value is ten, the threshold value may notbe reached until, e.g., delay is pressed four times and skip is pressedtwo times.

In step 612, control circuitry 304 may determine that that the compositevalue corresponds to (e.g., equals or exceeds) the threshold value. Ifcontrol circuitry 304 makes this determination, control circuitry 304may generate an advertisement (e.g., for display on display 310).Control circuitry 304 may also reset the composite value in the controlcircuitry. To reset the composite value, control circuitry 304 may sendan instruction to storage circuitry (e.g., transmit an instruction tomedia guidance data source 418 via communications network 414) to setthe composite value to a value of zero.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 6 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 6 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining a dynamicadvertisement schedule for a playlist provider by determining acomposite value based on user selections of selectable options. Itshould be noted that process 700 or any step thereof could be performedon, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example,process 600 may be executed by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) asinstructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user device(e.g., user equipment devices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) in order todetermine whether to retain media assets (e.g., as discussed in relationto FIGS. 1-2). In addition, one or more steps of process 700 may beincorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any otherprocess or embodiment (e.g., process 600 (FIG. 6)).

In some embodiments, control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304)makes decisions based on associations stored in storage circuitry. Forexample, a decision may be made as to whether a received user input isassociated with a value for addition to a composite value. The compositevalue may be utilized to determine whether a function is to be performed(e.g., whether an advertisement is to be played back).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative determinative steps involved indetermining a dynamic advertisement schedule in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. In step 702, control circuitry (e.g.,control circuitry 304) may receive an input (e.g., via user inputinterface 310). The input may be selection of a playlist option ofplaylist menu 500 (e.g., “thumbs up” option 502 a, “thumbs down” option504 a, “play” option 506 a, “pause” option 508 a, “skip” option 510 a,and/or “delay” option 512 a). The input may also be the selection of anyother interactive portion of playlist menu 500 a (e.g., media assetrepresentation 516 a), or may be any other manipulation of mediaassociated with playlist menu 500 a (e.g., selection of advertisement524 b, or the opening or closing of an application associated withplaylist menu 500 a such as an Internet radio station).

In step 704, control circuitry 304 may determine whether a received userinput is associated with a first value. For example, some selectableoptions may be associated with a certain value (e.g., skip option 510 aand delay option 512 a may be both associated with a value of three).Similarly, in step 706 control circuitry may determine whether thereceived input is associated with a second value if it is determinedthat the received input is not associated with the second value. Someselectable options may be associated with the second value (e.g., thumbsup option 502 a and thumbs down option 504 a may both be associated witha value of two). Control circuitry 304 may perform this determination byconsulting storage circuitry (e.g., storage 308) to determine whether anassociation with the first value or second value exists. If noassociation exists with either the first value or the second value, step708 will be executed, where control circuitry 304 may utilize a defaultvalue. The default value may be a value of zero, or may be a highervalue. For example, if control circuitry 304 determines that the userhas supplied a subscription payment, then control circuitry 304 maydetermine that the default value is zero. Otherwise, control circuitry304 may determine that the default value is one. The first value, secondvalue, and default value may be assigned by a playlist provider wherevalues are higher if a particular interaction associated with a value isdeemed to indicate that a user is more attentive to a playlist menu(e.g., playlist menu 500 a) relative to another user interaction, suchthat an advertisement is more likely to play when the user is attentive.

Step 710 is executed whenever control circuitry 304 determines that thereceived input is associated with the first value as per step 704 or isassociated with the second value as per step 706, or control circuitry304 determines that the default value is to be used as per step 708.When executing step 710, control circuitry 304 computes a compositevalue. Control circuitry 304 then retrieves a threshold value in step712. The purpose of retrieving the threshold value is to compare thecomposite value to the threshold value to determine if a function is tobe performed (e.g., an advertisement is to be played). The thresholdvalue may be retrieved from storage circuitry (e.g., media guidance datasource 418, which may be accessed via communications network 414).

Control circuitry 304 may determine whether the composite value equalsor exceeds the threshold value in step 714. This determination may beperformed by computing whether the value of the composite value is ahigher or equal value to the threshold value. If the composite valuedoes not equal or exceed the threshold, control circuitry 304 may beginthe process anew when new input is received. If the composite value doesequal or exceed the threshold, control circuitry 304 may perform afunction (e.g., play back an advertisement, or replace media assetrepresentation 516 a with advertisement 524 b).

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 7 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 7 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining amodification of a playlist of media assets. It should be noted thatprocess 800 or any step thereof could be performed on, or provided by,any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process 800 may beexecuted by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by a mediaguidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipmentdevices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) in order to determine whether toretain media assets (e.g., as discussed in relation to FIGS. 1-2). Inaddition, one or more steps of process 800 may be incorporated into orcombined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment(e.g., process 600 (FIG. 6)).

In some embodiments, playlists of media assets may be modified by asystem or a user. For example, a user may specify that a media asset isto cease playing, and control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304)may remove the media asset from the playlist. Control circuitry maymonitor for user interactions associated with the playlist in order todetermine whether and when to insert the stopped media asset back intothe playlist, and may insert the media asset back into the playlist whena threshold number of user interactions has been detected by the controlcircuitry.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in modifyingplaylists of media assets in accordance with some embodiments of theinvention. In step 802, control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304)may receive a user input (e.g., a selection of a “pause” option 508 a,received via user input interface 310). In response to receiving theuser input, control circuitry 304 may cause a currently playing mediaasset to stop playing. Control circuitry 304 may also remove the mediaasset from the playlist. For example, control circuitry 304 may send aninstruction to storage circuitry (e.g., storage 308) to delete the mediaasset from a playlist that is stored at the storage circuitry.

In step 804, control circuitry 304 may monitor for user interactionsassociated with the playlist subsequent to the initial user input. Forexample, control circuitry 304 may monitor for user selection of anyinteractive or selectable feature of playlist menu 500 a, such asselectable options 502 a, 504 a, 506 a, 508 a, 510 a, or 512 a. Controlcircuitry 304 may also monitor for user interactions that manipulate anapplication including the playlist (e.g., the opening or closing of abrowser page or an application that runs an Internet radio station).Control circuitry 304 may detect a user interaction when an input isreceived via user input interface 310 that affects a playlist or anapplication that runs a playlist. Control circuitry 304 may monitor foruser interactions in order to determine whether a sufficient number ofuser interactions have occurred such that a user would not be bored ordispleased by the insertion of the removed media asset.

In step 806, control circuitry 304 may detect a user interactionassociated with the playlist subsequent to the user input. Controlcircuitry 304 may responsively determine a number of user interactionsassociated with the playlist that have been received subsequent to theuser input. Control circuitry 304 may perform this determination byconsulting a running counter that began with a value of zero, and wasincremented by one each time a user interaction was detected by controlcircuitry 304 subsequent to the user input. The running counter may bestored locally (e.g., at storage 308) or remotely (e.g., at mediaguidance data source 418, accessible via communications network 414).The running counter will, at any given time, reflect a number of userinteractions associated with the playlist that have been receivedsubsequent to the user input.

In step 808, control circuitry 304 may compare the number of userinteractions to a threshold number retrieved from storage circuitry(e.g., media guidance data source 418). Control circuitry 304 mayretrieve the threshold number from the storage circuitry by transmittinga query for retrieving the threshold number via communications network414. In performing the comparison, in step 810, control circuitry 304may determine that the number of user interactions corresponds to thethreshold number. For example, control circuitry 304 may determine thatthe number of user interactions equal or exceeds the threshold number.If the number of user interactions corresponds to the threshold number,control circuitry 304 may insert the media into the playlist.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 8 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 8 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining whether tomodify a playlist by determining a composite value based on userinteractions with, e.g., a playlist menu. It should be noted thatprocess 900 or any step thereof could be performed on, or provided by,any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process 900 may beexecuted by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by a mediaguidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipmentdevices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) in order to determine whether toretain media assets (e.g., as discussed in relation to FIGS. 1-2). Inaddition, one or more steps of process 900 may be incorporated into orcombined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment(e.g., process 600 (FIG. 6)).

In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 may make variousdeterminations in order to determine when a function is to be performedon a playlist. For example, control circuitry 304 may monitor userinteractions and repeatedly determine whether the number of userinteractions detected has reached a threshold prior to causing anadvertisement to play back.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of illustrative determinative steps involved inmodifying playlists of media assets in accordance with some embodimentsof the invention. In step 902, control circuitry 304 may receive input.For example, control circuitry 304 may be monitoring for userinteractions following the received user selection of skip option 510 a.Control circuitry 304 may then add 1 to a number, per step 904, wherethe number may correspond to a running counter. The running counter maybegin with a value of zero, and may be incremented by one each time auser interaction is detected by control circuitry 304 subsequent to theuser input. The running counter may be stored locally (e.g., at storage308) or remotely (e.g., at media guidance data source 418, accessiblevia communications network 414). The running counter may, at any giventime, reflect a number of user interactions associated with the playlistthat have been received subsequent to the initial user input.

In step 906, control circuitry may retrieve a threshold from storagecircuitry (e.g., storage 308) and control circuitry may then compare thethreshold to the number (i.e., the running counter). Control circuitry304 may then determine whether the threshold corresponds to the numberof user interactions detected in step 908. For example, controlcircuitry 304 may determine that the number of user interactions equalor exceeds the threshold number. If the number of user interactionscorresponds to the threshold number, control circuitry 304 may perform afunction in step 910 (e.g., insert the skipped media asset into theplaylist). Otherwise, control circuitry 304 may continue to monitor forfurther user interactions and repeat the steps detailed in theforegoing.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 9 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 9 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 9.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that methodsinvolved in the present invention may be embodied in a computer programproduct that includes a computer usable and/or readable medium. Forexample, such a computer usable medium may consist of a read-only memorydevice, such as a CD-ROM disk or conventional ROM devices, or a randomaccess memory, such as a hard drive device or a computer diskette,having a computer readable program code stored thereon. It should alsobe understood, that methods, techniques, and processes involved in thepresent invention may be executed using processing circuitry. Forinstance, the determination of whether an advertisement should begenerated for display as described herein may be performed by processingcircuitry, e.g., by processing circuitry 306 of FIG. 3. The processingcircuitry, for instance, may be a general purpose processor, acustomized integrated circuit (e.g., an ASIC), or a field-programmablegate array (FPGA) within user equipment 108 or one of servers 122 ofFIG. 1. For example, playlists and media assets as described herein maybe stored in, and retrieved from, storage 308 of FIG. 3, or mediaguidance data source 418 of FIG. 4. Furthermore, processing circuitry,or a computer program, may update settings associated with a user, anumber of user interactions received since an initial user input,updating the information stored within storage 308 of FIG. 3 or mediaguidance data source 418 of FIG. 4.

The processes discussed above are intended to be illustrative and notlimiting. One skilled in the art would appreciate that the steps of theprocesses discussed herein may be omitted, modified, combined, and/orrearranged, and any additional steps may be performed without departingfrom the scope of the invention. More generally, the above disclosure ismeant to be exemplary and not limiting. Only the claims that follow aremeant to set bounds as to what the present invention includes.

1-50. (canceled)
 51. A method for managing a media asset playlist, themethod comprising: associating, in storage circuitry, a first value witha first selectable option, wherein the first value is added to acomposite value associated with a current playlist session each time thefirst selectable option is selected; associating, in the storagecircuitry, a second value with a second selectable option, wherein thesecond value is added to the composite value each time the secondselectable option is selected; receiving a user selection, via userinput interface circuitry, of either the first selectable option or thesecond selectable option corresponding to a first media asset currentlybeing played; in response to receiving the user selection, retrievingthe composite value from storage circuitry; comparing, using processingcircuitry, the composite value to a threshold value from the storagecircuitry; in response to determining, via the processing circuitry,that the composite value corresponds to the threshold value, generatingfor display, using the processing circuitry, a second media asset thatis not indicated for playback by a playlist menu on a display screen andresetting the composite value in the storage circuitry; determiningwhether the user selection is a selectable like option that, whenselected, indicates the first media asset in the current playlist isliked by the user; and in response to determining that the userselection is the selectable like option, selecting a content of thesecond media asset to be contextually related to the first media asset.52. The method of claim 51, further comprising: in response to receivinga user selection of a selectable delay option, removing a media assetfrom a playlist for a period of time.
 53. The method of claim 52,wherein the period of time is specified by a user.
 54. The method ofclaim 51, further comprising: generating for display a notification thata media asset has been skipped when the user selection is a selectableskip option.
 55. The method of claim 52, further comprising: generatingfor display a notification that a media asset has been delayed when theselectable delay option is selected.
 56. The method of claim 51, furthercomprising: receiving a subscription payment from a user; and adjustingthe threshold value to be a higher value in response to receipt of thesubscription payment.
 57. The method of claim 51, wherein a third mediaasset related to the first media asset appears with greater frequency inthe playlist when the selectable like option is the user selection. 58.The method of claim 51, wherein the first value exceeds the secondvalue.
 59. The method of claim 51, wherein the second value exceeds thefirst value.
 60. A system for managing a media asset playlist, thesystem comprising: storage circuitry configured to: associate a firstvalue with a first selectable option, wherein the first value is addedto a composite value associated with a current playlist session eachtime the first selectable option is selected; associate a second valuewith a second selectable option, wherein the second value is added tothe composite value each time the second selectable option is selected;control circuitry configured to: receive a user selection, via userinput interface circuitry, of either the first selectable option or thesecond selectable option corresponding to a first media asset currentlybeing played; in response to receiving the user selection, retrieve thecomposite value retrieved from the storage circuitry; compare thecomposite value to a threshold value from the storage circuitry; inresponse to determining that the composite value corresponds to thethreshold value, generate for display a second media asset that is notindicated for playback by the playlist menu on a display screen andreset the composite value in the storage circuitry; determine whetherthe user selection is a selectable like option that, when selected,indicates a first media asset in the current playlist is liked by theuser; and in response to determining that the user selection is theselectable like option, selecting a content of the second media asset tobe contextually related to the first media asset.
 61. The system ofclaim 60, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: inresponse to receiving a user selection of a selectable delay option,remove a media asset from a playlist for a period of time.
 62. Thesystem of claim 61, wherein the period of time is specified by a user.63. The system of claim 60, wherein the control circuitry is furtherconfigured to: generate for display a notification that a media assethas been skipped when a selectable skip option is selected.
 64. Thesystem of claim 61, wherein the control circuitry is further configuredto: generate for display a notification that a media asset has beendelayed when the selectable delay option is selected.
 65. The system ofclaim 60, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:receive a subscription payment from a user; and adjust the thresholdvalue to be a higher value in response to receipt of the subscriptionpayment.
 66. The system of claim 60, wherein a third media asset relatedto the first media asset appears with greater frequency in the playlistwhen the selectable like option is the user selection.
 67. The system ofclaim 60, wherein the first value exceeds the second value.
 68. Thesystem of claim 60, wherein the second value exceeds the first value.